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FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDECOSTUMING 52 CHARACTERSSYDNEY MARESCACOSTUME DESIGNERSetting out to design the costumes for The Lightning Thief, the first thing I didwas read the book, and the second thing I did was read the book again. RickRiordan gives us a great foundation for the costumes in his novels, full rich characterdescriptions and costumedetails. We wanted to tryto include as many detailsfrom the book as possible inthe costumes for the show:Poseidon in a Hawaiian shirt,Echidna in all denim, Areson his motorcycle. If theGreek Gods and Monstersare walking among us, theymust have figured out howto blend in. In our musical,like in the books, the gods aredressed like everyday peoplewith some magical touches.When you look at kidshanging out in real life, almosteveryone is in some versionof jeans and a t-shirt. Ratherthan having everyone in CampHalf-Blood t-shirts, which mightmake it hard for the audience totrack which character is which,we decided to give each ofthe kids their own unique look.Pictured (left to right): Jorrel Javier, Chris McCarrell (top), Kristin Stokes, and JamesHayden Rodriguez. Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniel(Though if you watch closely,there is one camper in a CampHalf-Blood tee—she’s interning in Mr. D’s office.) We wanted to make careful,specific choices while still making sure they each felt like real kids.Percy is in jeans, a green windbreaker, and a t-shirt with a glowing blue stripe thatfeels almost like lighting or a beam of sunlight seen from underwater. He’s dressed inthe murky colors of the ocean on a clear day.8

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDEOrange is an important color at Camp Half-Blood, so we have Annabeth in an orange and white,striped t-shirt. She adds a tough, suede motorcycle jacket for questing—to keep her warm on chillynights and because she’s a little bit of a cool girl.Grover keeps his hippie-ish vibe in a tie-dyed t-shirt with a thermal underneath. He reveals hisfurry goat legs when he is at camp, but when he’s out in the world he wears oversized jeans andorthopedic sneakers (to disguise his hooves).We wanted Luke to feel a little older than the other kids, and a little more complicated. He’s theircounselor and he’s already been on his own quest. Our Luke is a little bit edgy in black jeans and anasymmetrical t-shirt with rusty red splatters that evoke flames or maybe even blood. His high-topshave golden-yellow details, connecting him to his dad, Hermes.Many of our actors play dozens of characters and each one needs to feel distinct and instantlyrecognizable. The costumes have been specially rigged to get on and off quickly. Sometimes anactor will have only seconds to transform into their next god or monster. With all the quick changesand character swapping, the back stage choreography of the dressers and performers is almost asexciting to watch as the show on stage.Costume Illustration by Sydney Maresca9

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDEDUELINGWITHDEMIGODSROD KINTERFIGHT DIRECTORWhen I started to prepare to stage the fights in The Lightning Thief, and aftertalking with director Stephen Brackett, my first thoughts had to be the overallconcept of all the fighting in the show and what the stakes were for each fight. Afterthat, I approached how each character would fight. And then I began to tie the twotogether.SPOTLIGHT ONSWORDSThe swords were custom madefor the show by Nathan DeCoux ofGotham Armory. In designing Riptide(Percy’s sword) we felt that it wouldbe cool for the hilt (handle portion ofthe sword) to resemble a trident. Thestyle of the sword is also based on aGreek sword called a Xiphos.Pictured: Chris McCarrell and James Hayden Rodriguez (bottom); SarahBeth Pfeifer and Jorrel Javier (top) Photo Credit: Jeremy DanielTHE FIRST FURYThis fight is a series of surprises, startingwith Ms Dodds becoming a Fury and then apen turning into a sword; Percy acts on instinctrather than skill to defeat the Fury.10THE MINOTAURThis sets up one of the most importantevents of the story, the death of Percy’smom. In talking with Stephen, we wantedit to be scary and have an emotionalimpact.

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDECAPTURE THE FLAGThis is the sequence that took the most rehearsal and time to build. I wanteda combination of weapons that were dangerous looking and cartoonish, i.eClarisse fighting with a pair of Kopis (Greek inverted curved swords) comparedwith Silena fighting with a giant “Donkey Kong” hammer. With that fight I alsowanted to use choreography that combined danger with the sense of the kidsplaying a game. In putting together this sequence I worked closely with RobRokicki to create a rhythmic battle section in which the percussion of band andthe percussive sound of the weapons connecting play off each other.CHOPPING OFFMEDUSA’S HEADThis was truly a collaborativeeffort between Choreographer,Fight Director and Director.You’ll have to see the show tosee what we came up with.Pictured: James Hayden Rodriguez, Sarah Beth Pfeifer, and thecompany. Photo Credit: Jeremy DanielTHE BATTLE WITH ARESThe Battle with Ares: Percy, Annabeth andGrover fight with Ares. Although this is primarily afight between Percy and Ares, Stephen and I feltit was important to show all three of our heroeshelping to defeat Ares. By this point in the show,Percy is now a sword fighter and holds his ownagainst the God of War and in the end uses hisgodly power to control the waves.ANNABETH &PERCYAnnabeth is a brave andskilled fighter—I wanted allher dagger work to be quickand smooth. I also felt it wasimportant to show that she waskey in the improvement thatPercy gains throughout theshow in his fighting skills.11

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDEDRESSINGHALF-BLOODS & GREEK GODS& MONSTERSOH MY!SPOTLIGHT ONBILLY HIPKINSDRESSER FOR RYAN KNOWLES& CHRIS MCCARRELLHello, I’m Billy Hipkins and I have the pleasure ofdressing Ryan Knowles, who plays 9 different characters in‘The Lightning Thief’. Ryan and I hit it off from the day wemet, probably because we’ve both been in show businessfor a long time and have a lot in common. Though this isRyan’s first Broadway show, this is the 24th Broadway showthat I have done wardrobe work on.When we dressers come in 90 minutes before the showstarts, we check in with our supervisor Kelly Saxon to see ifanyone is out of the show that night. If so, I have to get thePictured: Chris McCarrell.understudy costumes to the dressing room, stage left, andPhoto Credit: Jeremy Danielstage right and move Ryan’s costumes (or Chris McCarrell’sone costume, I dress him too and since he never changes that’s pretty simple)out of the way. Then I check to see if any of my costumes were brought down for repairs andcollect them and any pieces that were laundered (we have double versions of a lot of things,mainly shirts, so no one has to wear sweaty costumes more than once). I take all of these tothe place they are pre-set.Once I’ve checked that I have all of my pieces in place—including shoes, hats, some jewelryand, on this show the very important golden, Hermes winged sneakers for Percy—I’ll fill upChris and Ryan’s water bottles that stay on deck (and they drink A LOT of water during theshow!) Then it’s time to check in with the guys, see how their day was, and ask if there areany costume issues I need to know about. Then I’ll let them get ready. On this show they can12

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDEget dressed without help but sometimes anactor needs assistance (like when I dressedLumiere at Beauty and the Beast. It’s hard todress yourself when you have candle hands).Once the show starts I spend most of mytime on stage right where Ryan has a chairwith a laundry basket beside it to drop hisdiscarded costumes in as he takes them off.Sarah Beth Pfeifer does a lot of her changesright next to us with her dresser AshlynneAbraham.Most of Ryan’s changes aren’t too quickso I can hand him his shirt, pants, etc. whilewe chat a bit. Often the cast sings fromoffstage, so we all have to be mindful ofwhen their microphones are live and stayquiet. A lot of Ryan’s show requires resettinga costume he just took off to wear again ascene later—he gets in and out of his Chironlook 3 times in Act I alone.At intermission, I retrieve Percy’s goldenHermes sneakers and bring them up to Chris’room so he can put them on and I’ll set hisregular sneakers in his prop backpack to puton onstage later. I also have to make surethat he’s taken his prop pen/sword out of hisjeans so it can go back to the prop table ondeck. (When you do the same show 8 timesa week and rarely leave the stage like Chrisdoes, it’s easy to forget a pen in your pocket).Velcro, snaps, and sometimes magnets make iteasy to get actors in and out of costumes quickly. Adress shirt might look buttoned but those buttonshave just been sewn back on with velcro underthem. Another shortcut is to “puddle” things. Ican scrunch down a sock to make it easier to getinto or scrunch down a pair of pants so there’s lessleg to get through, simple ways to save time.By the end of the show I’ll throw any costumesthat need laundering into a basket to go downstairsand I’ll leave the deck the costumes that start outin Ryan’s dressing room. I’ll put them away andwait for him to come up after the curtain call.Then I just need to hang up or send to laundrywhat he takes off. I’ll go to Chris’ room next anddo the same thing. I’ll bring any repairs and thedirty laundry to the basement, sort it out (whites,darks, towels, etc.) with the rest of the dressersand then we call it a night.Then we come in tomorrow and do it allagain—sometimes twice!Act II moves a bit faster and Ryan’schanges get quicker. His last change is ourquickest, but we’ve got it down. When youset up quick changes you choreograph themjust like anything done onstage so we alwaysdo things in the same order, as in: “I handyou the shirt, while you velcro it I get behindyou with your tail, while you velcro that I grabyour pants, etc.” I just mentioned velcro.Pictured: Chris McCarrell.Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniel13

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDESPOTLIGHT ONASHLYNNE ABRAHAMDRESSER FOR SARAH BETH PFIEFERSARAH BETH’SLIGHTNING THIEF TRACKSarah Beth has 19 changes in the showincluding Clarisse, Katie Gardner, MrsDodds, Camper, Reporter, Statue,Thalia, Underworld, Bianca & more.We also have a wig person on our team! Everytime Sarah Beth changes clothes, she has anew wig that Elias will put on for her.Her Quickest Change is either out ofClarisse into Mrs Dodds during the firstnumber, or out of Clarisse into Reporterduring ‘Drive’Sarah Beth also has a lot of makeupchanges during the show, so I carryaround all her supplies she might needwhenever she comes offstage, sincemost of her time offstage is spentchanging clothes.In addition to dressing the actors, a dresser’sjob includes making sure all your actor’s clothesare in good repair, creating a laundry schedulefor your clothes to make sure everything iscleaned weekly, and to make sure everything inyour actor’s track is running smoothly (clotheswise) and if there is an issue with something,to act as an ambassador between the actorand the wardrobe supervisor to find a solutionthat works for everyone!14

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDEMy favorite change: I love doing thechange into Clarisse’s “Put You In YourPlace” gear. That look has the mostpieces (and a makeup change!), so it’sthe most complex of all of her changes-so it’s been fun to figure out how tostreamline it to be as smooth and fastas possible.Even though many people have donethis wardrobe track over the course ofthe life of the show, Sarah Beth and Iare still finding ways every night totweak the track to make it smootherand easier!This is Sarah Beth’s portion of the Stage Rightrack! She has a lot of changes in act 2, and all ofthem happen over here.Here is the Mrs Dodds Preset from the Topof the Show-- We set all of the clothes out onchairs like this so we can easily grab them in thechoreography of the quick change.There are little tags sewn into all hercostumes like the one below— to tellus the outfit she wears the piece with!(Incase someone else had to do mytrack and they weren’t familiar with theclothes)Everyone is readyand preset for thetop of Act 2!15

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDEBUILDING AFANTASTICALWORLDLEE SAVAGESCENIC DESIGNERThe set for The Lighting Thief has evolved (and grownin size!) since we first designed it to fit in a passengervan in 2012 but it has always been a mashup of classicalGreek elements and the contemporary urban landscape.We looked at the architecture of ancient Greek theatersas well as the Acropolis and imagined these sites underconstruction or being rebuilt to create the world for theplay. It was exciting to imagine the story taking placein an environment that could transform in imaginativeand theatrical ways as opposed to creating a literalrepresentation for each location or supernatural eventwe see on Percy’s quest. One of my favorite examples ishow we use leaf blowers and toilet paper to create Percy’scontrol of water in the show, which was the result ofsearching for toilet paper pranks online with the directorStephen Brackett.SPOTLIGHTCREATING THELEAF BLOWERSThe Lightning Thief uses8 yard blowers in the show;7 blowers have a 6-inch paintroller attached to the top of theair nozzle. We then take 1-plytoilet paper rolls with a cardboardcenter and slide them on the paintrollers in a way that allows them tocatch the air from the leaf blowers.When the power is turned on; itthen launches the roll in one longcontinuous sheet approximately10,335 sq ft of toilet paper flyingout 20-40 feet.Pictured (left to right): Kristin Stokes, Chris McCarrell, and Jorrel Javier.Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniel16

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDEThe lighting design for The Lightning Thieftransforms the set (an urban streetscape) intoover 29 different locations, all through themagic of light.Hidden in the set are 2190 LED Pixels. Apixel is a digital light source (an LED) thatcan change colors; the primary colors oflight: Red, Blue and Green.When gods and monsters show up topraise, scold or attack Percy Jackson, theset comes alive with digital lighting effects.Each effect and color is coded to help tellthe story of who is good andwho is evil. There are alsofoot lights that pulse andshimmer on the actors andinto the audience. These areall controlled by a lightingcomputer console that runs989 lighting cues.LIGHTINGTHE GODSDAVID LANDERLIGHTING DESIGNERSmoke and haze machineson stage create atmosphericeffects to allow us to see thebeams of light in the air. Beprepared: There is a lot of smokein the Underworld!In addition to the digital pixeleffects, the lighting rig is 95%comprised of LED spot and washlights. A traditional theatrical lightuses approx 575 watts of energy.The digital moving lights on PercyJackson are two times as bright,(left to right): Jorrel Javier, Chris McCarrell, Ryan Knowles (top),can change to hundreds of colors, Picturedand Kristin Stokes . Photo Credit: Jeremy Danielmove around to light the actors andflash into the audience, and use half the power—we are doing our best to begreen.I hope you can follow my lighting design and see what colors I selected torepresent a Fury, a Minotaur, and Poseidon. PS. There is a lot of Green!17

FEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDEA NEW CAMPER’SGUIDE TO GREEKMYTHOLOGYJust like Rick Riordan’s original Percy Jacksonbooks, our musical pulls from many differentGreek mythological sources and pairs themwith contemporary characters. Percy himself isnamed after the Greek hero Perseus, who was thedemigod son of Zeus. Although Percy Jackson’sparentage is slightly different, like Perseus, hedoes have a fateful encounter with Medusa!Here are some other crossover characters youmight recognize from Greek mythology:THE ORACLE OF DELPHI18CHIRONIn the world of Percy Jackson, Chironis a centaur (half human, half horse)who trains and guides demigods. Hisrole in Greek mythology was similar;known for his medicinal knowledgeand calm temperament, Chirontrained some of the greatest heroesof myth, including Heracles andAchilles.POSEIDONThe Greek god of the sea, Poseidonwas one of Kronos’ three mostpowerful sons.DIONYSUSThe Oracle was a famous highpriestess named Pythia, who servedApollo in his temple at Delphi. In thetheatre, she is most well-known forprophesying that Oedipus would killhis father and marry his mother—talkabout a complicated family!The Greek god of theatre and wine,Dionysus had a mysterious birth (somemyths say he’s a son of Zeus and amortal, others claim his parents areZeus and Persephone, or Demeter),which gave him an outsider status inOlympus—much like Mr. D.THE FURIESATHENAJust like math teachers, the Furies(the three goddesses of vengeance)were known for being strict. Ruthlessobservers when it came to the rules,they punished anyone who steppedoutside the laws of society. So youcan see why they have a constantbone to pick with the Olympians andtheir children.The Greek goddess of wisdom, battlestrategy, and the arts. Similar to theway Annabeth assists Percy duringtheir encounter with Medusa, Athenahelped Perseus defeat Medusa byloaning her bronze shield to Perseusso he could hide from Medusa’sdangerous glare.

ZEUSFEIHTGNINTHGTHE LISTUDY GUIDECHIMERAZeus: The Greek god of lightningand thunder, and the king of MountOlympus. Zeus represented thepinnacle of the Greek religion; to theGreeks, Zeus was a symbol of justice.Chimera:AGreekmonstercomprised of a goat’s body, a lion’shead, and a serpent’s tail.HADESSATYRThe Greek god of the Underworld,and Kronos’ eldest son. Along withhis brothers, Zeus and Poseidon,Hades ruled over the cosmos afterhe and his siblings defeated theirfather in battle.Half-human, and half-goat. Satyrswere creatures closely associatedwith Dionysu

Oct 03, 2019 · lightning bolt, Riordan turned the tale into the first Percy Jackson book. Nearly fifteen years after Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was first published, the Percy Jackson series recently celebrated 500 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Rick Riordan’s books have